Antioch man dies after slipping from boat

An Antioch man died after he slipped into the water while checking the engine of his boat on Lake Marie in the Chain O' Lakes, officials said.

It took rescue crews nearly five hours to find the body of David Azooz, 47, Tuesday night, according to Antioch Deputy Fire Chief Chris Lienhardt.

Azooz and a relative had been out on the lake just west of Antioch when he went to check on engine trouble and slipped under the water, his family said.

Dive teams and boats from five surrounding fire departments began searching near the spot where he was last seen, about 300 yards from the lake's eastern shore, officials said. Additional departments soon joined the search and divers recovered Azooz's body shortly before 11 p.m., Lienhardt said.

Relatives said Azooz was the father of four children and worked as a mechanic. They released a statement saying they were mourning "our beloved husband, father and friend."

"Dave was an amazing father, a caring husband and a great friend to all," the statement said. "We would like to specially thank all the countless men and women from all the rescue agencies that added in the recovery of Dave."

An autopsy determined that his cause of death was due to drowning with Alcohol as a contributing factor, officials said.